by Brunswick Blue Devils vs Mentor Cardinals
1st quarter
This playoff game started with Brunswick being forced to go 3 and out before punting the ball off to Mentor. Mentor starting on their own 39 yard line, marched down the field on a combination of quick passes and inside running to get the games first score with a 11 yard fade pass from quarterback Ian Kipp to wideout Colin DePasquale.
Mentor 7 Brunswick 0. On their second possession of the game, the Blue Devils decided to use their big senior running back Andrew Haber but stalled at their own 48 and had to punt the ball.
The Cardinals received the ball on their 12 yard line, but on two plays, Kipp was intercepted going for the big touchdown pass. The Blue Devils, trying to capitalize on the turnover, committed their own interception thrown by quarterback Ethan Fritz. After a couple of exciting defensive plays by both teams, the quarter ended with the score Mentor 7 Brunswick 0.
2nd quarter
After Brunswick punted the ball away, Mentor started their drive at their own 16 yard line with a little over 11 minutes left in the half. Behind the passing of Kipp, the Cardinals moved the ball down the field in 2 minutes before fumbling the ball away at the Blue Devils 6 yard line.
With 8:11 to go and Fritz using his passing attack, the Blue Devils were able to score their first touchdown on a 20 yard Andrew Haber run. Mentor 7 Brunswick 6.
Mentor starting at their own 38 yard line and 5:10 left on the clock, coach Matt Gray used his own mixed running & passing game to moved the ball down the field to increase the Mentor lead on a 2 yard quarterback keeper by Kipp.
Mentor 14 Brunswick 6.
Brunswick wanting to end the half with their own score, started on their own 20 yard line and a little over 2 minutes left on the clock. The Blue Devils used a handful of successful plays to even up the score on a Haber 1 yard run and a 2 point conversion; end of the half Mentor 14 Brunswick 14.
3rd quarter
Coach Gray must have gave his team a very motivating halftime speech, because Mentor’s Michael Norwood took the opening kickoff 86 yards down the right sideline for the Cardinal touchdown. Mentor 21 Brunswick 14.
Over the next couple of minutes both teams traded possessions by fumbling the ball and eventually Brunswick was forced to punt the ball from their own 1 yard line. With great field position on the Blue Devil 45, the Cardinals used some trick plays to move the ball but had to settle for a 31 yard field goal with 7:04 left on the clock. Mentor 24 Brunswick 14.
After the Cardinals defense stood tall and forced a 3 and out, Mentor took over possession again with a short field. After a few quick passes by Kipp, Mentor was able to get down the field for another field goal. Mentor 27 Brunswick 14.
With 2:18 left in the 3rd quarter and the wet conditions worsening, both teams traded fumbles once again and ended the quarter Mentor 27 Brunswick 14.
4th quarter
Brunswick started the 4th quarter punting the ball back to Mentor after they could not capitalize on the fumble recovery. The Cardinals decided to continue with a mixture of inside runs and short passes, which helped them move from their own 49 yard line to the end zone on a 34 yard pass by Kipp with 9:19 left in the game.
Mentor 34 Brunswick 14. Brunswick could only muster 4 plays before turning the ball over on downs and Mentor with only 36 yard between them and pay dirt used up a good portion of the clock before adding 3 points to their lead on a 19 yard field goal. Mentor 37 Brunswick 14.
With 5:04 left to go in the game and down by 23 points, Brunswick used their ground game to move the ball 67 yards before scoring on a 13 yard pass from Fritz; leaving 1:11 left on the clock. Mentor 37 Brunswick 21.
Mentor started their final possession at their own 30 yard line and ran 3 plays to end the game. Mentor 37 Brunswick 21.
Players of the Game:
Mentor- Senior Quarterback Ian Kipp (20-29 passing, 288 yard passing, 2 passing TD, 1 rushing TD)
Brunswick- Senior Running Back Andrew Haber (16 rushing attempts, 107 rushing yards, 2 TD)
